On 5 May 2023, the Home Office published new caseworker guidance on requests from applicants to waive or delay the requirement to enrol biometric data where it is not safe to travel to a Visa Application Centre.
The Home Office will not ordinarily consider a visa application until after biometrics (photograph, fingerprints) have been provided. This involves a visa applicant travelling to a visa application centre or ‘VAC’, usually in their country of residence, after the online visa application has been submitted.
Why are biometrics so important?
The guidance states:
“Biometrics, in the form of fingerprints and facial images, underpin the current UK immigration system to support identity assurance and suitability checks on foreign nationals who are subject to immigration control. They enable comprehensive checks to be made against immigration and criminality records to identify those who pose a threat to our national security, public safety, immigration controls or are likely to breach our laws if they are allowed to come to the UK.”
Requests to waive biometrics
In some circumstances, travelling to a VAC may not be safe. Requests can now be submitted to waive the biometric requirement or delay biometrics and for the application to be processed in the interim. This is the first time guidance has been published on how these requests will be considered.
The guidance confirms the steps that the applicant must try to take to resolve difficulties in travelling to a visa application centre, including:
- Delaying their journey
- Using an alternative VAC
- Paying for priority services for a faster decision
- Paying to ‘keep my passport while applying’
Applicants must give their reasons for requesting a waiver or delay and provide evidence to support their request.
The guidance emphases throughout that requests will only be approved in very exceptional circumstances. The decision maker will consider the following criteria (quote):
- Individuals must satisfy a decision maker about their identity to a reasonable degree of certainty before coming to the UK.
- They must provide evidence they need to make an urgent journey to a VAC that would be particularly unsafe for them based on the current situation within the area they are located and along the route where they would need to travel to reach a VAC to enrol their biometrics, and they cannot delay their journey until later or use alternative routes.
- They must demonstrate their circumstances are so compelling as to make them exceptional. which go beyond simply joining relatives who are living in the UK, for example, their UK based sponsor requires full-time care and there are no other viable alternatives to meet the sponsor’s or their young children’s needs.
- They must confirm they are able to travel to any VAC if they want their application to be predetermined, or where they are requesting decision makers to excuse them from the requirement to attend a VAC to enrol their biometrics, they need to explain why they cannot attend any VAC, but are able to travel to the UK.
The new guidance will be particularly relevant for applicants making family reunion applications and applicants in countries such as Sudan and Afghanistan.
While this guidance is welcome and hard-won following a number of legal challenges, it is clear that requests to waive or delay biometrics will only be granted in the most exceptional circumstances and UK security will be prioritised.
Please contact us for expert advice and assistance.